By the time this album was released, the group had branched out a bit from their punk-influenced pop music stylings and grouchy personal-relationship-based lyrics. Half the songs on this album (among them "Dead Loss Angeles'', "Nuclear Device," "Shah Shah a Gogo," and "Genetix") spout verses critical of social or political issues. Only the first of these four numbers, with its clipped vocal delivery and stripped-down, bass-heavy arrangement, shows significant Brit-punk influence. Certain songs here exhibit strong mainstream tendencies with no hardcore sensibilities whatsoever, such as "Duchess" (a tuneful power pop number with clear chart-oriented influences) and "Don't Bring Harry" (a slow-tempo, piano-dominated selection). Still other influences can be seen in "Meninblack," a Devo-derived number featuring a synthesized clipped beat/electronic pulse texture, chilly and sanitized-sounding organ, lockstep drums, and Alvin and the Chipmunks-style sped-up vocals. The intriguing "Ice" boasts interesting production touches and an inventively dubious tonal focus. The songs are lengthy, with at times prolix instrumental openings and interludes. Sound quality on the EMI America re-release is uneven at times, with occasional distortion in the drums and percussive low synthesizer. This is a generally good album worth hearing. Original pressings of this release have a 3-D picture on the front cover. Approximately half the songs on this album would be reissued one year later on the U.S. label release IV.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
The Stranglers - the raven (1979)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Popular Posts of the Week
-
The Man In Black shows hints of gray on American III: Solitary Man , his first studio album since being diagnosed with Parkinson's dise...
-
Wheatus is Wheatus' first album, released on 15 August 2000. Three singles were released off the album: Wheatus' biggest hit "...
-
Following the drug-fueled implosion of the Heartbreakers, Johnny Thunders bounced back with his first solo outing, So Alone. Featuring a ve...
-
Rating: 9/10 Live Section Neil Young! Be careful with this one! Because I'm getting around with his name on my t-shirt. This is sort of ...
-
History They originally called themselves The Reactionaries , with additional band member and singer Martin Tamburovich. According to Watt, ...
-
Von is the debut album of Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós . It was originally released in Iceland to moderate critical acclaim but rel...
-
"Gloomy Sunday" (from Hungarian "Szomoru Vasarnap", is a song written by the Hungarian self-taught pianist and composer ...
1 COMMENTS:
Pass = crunchiedo
Post a Comment